The Attorney General's Office said Fred Fuller Oil has provided documents that show it is in compliance with state law when it comes to financial guarantees for pre-buy oil customers.

"They provided us with a list of all their pre-buy customers and how much oil they have yet to deliver, and every two weeks, they are going to provide us an update so we can see that they are meeting their commitments every two weeks to their customers," said Jim Boffetti, consumer bureau chief for the Attorney General's Office.

The state set up a crisis hotline in January when hundreds of customers reported missed and late deliveries from the state's largest independent heating oil supplier, including those who had pre-paid for their oil.

Boffetti said Fred Fuller Oil has been cooperative, is delivering oil and has futures contracts for the pre-buy money it has taken in. But that still doesn't guarantee customers will get their oil.

"It means that Fred Fuller has an agreement, a contract with a supplier that he may -- emphasis on the word 'may' -- he may purchase oil from them at a future date at a specific price," Boffetti sad. "That's all the statute requires."

Boffetti warned that state law does not adequately protect consumers. He said an oil company could use that money for anything, including current operating expenses.

Boffetti said he knows of three independent oil dealers in New Hampshire that failed since 2009. Customers that pre-bought oil lost a combined $650,000.

"It happens too often in New Hampshire, and the amount of money is significant, and consumers shouldn't bear that kind of risk," Boffetti said.

Boffetti said his office has been trying for years to amend the law because while most dealers would either deliver the oil customers paid for or return the money, the current statute doesn't guarantee it.